News from Elizaville... Changing seasons!

Always thinking I’m braced and ready, just how suddenly summer ends on Closing Day never ceases to surprise me with the stark contrast between camp and not camp. Daily sounds of campers and staff—laughter, games being played, singing,...—instantly giving way to the near-silence of the wind in the trees and the eerie sense that you can still hear a faint bugle call lingering in the air.

One immediate sign that summer has ended and our campers returned to
their “other” homes is the quick emergence of several families of wild turkeys
(seen most often on the girls athletics fields and the boys ballfields). Scatico’s very own bald eagle, who kept a somewhat low profile this past season (unlike the heron living on the lake) is spotted several times a week. A wildebeest-like herd of deer race along the edge of the Sunset Trail at dusk (okay, maybe 10 isn’t a herd). The trees that somehow refused to yield any green through the end of September are transformed magically into a rainbow of colors during the first week of October.

Fortunately, camp tenaciously keeps its hold. Returned surveys arrive daily stirring memories of favorite activities and special events. Reports of off-season Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes —see the “Wha’s Happenin’”column on page 2) the simple joy in running into a fellow Scaticonian away from our Elizaville home. Equally fun is the process of starting to ramp up for the 2016 season: visiting and welcoming first-time campers; program- planning with returning staff; creating (and beginning work on) the off-season project list....

In this last category, we are most excited by designs for a new outdoor theatre with seating (enough for the entire camp) built directly into the sloping hillside to the right of the tree-lined road as you head towards the dining room from the canteen. The stage will sit out the base of the hill, slightly above (and to the Pagoda side) of the gap in the woods that leads to the lake path. (We’ll share an architectural sketch in the next issue of the Camper Newsletter along with other program and facility plans for next season). We envision future summer evenings, the camp assembled for a play or talent show, the sun setting over the lake....

Somehow, by fondly remembering the summer past, mixed in with a few well-timed RSSes, and thoughts about what’s to come during the summer of 2016, we will manage to bridge the “10 for 2.” Pretty soon, the wild turkeys will grudgingly yield the Hill and ballfields to the sounds of campers and staff—laughter, games being played, singing,...

Scatico CITs traveled to the Dominican Republic to run a 1-week day camp for The DREAM Project (www.dominicandream.org). You can still read the blog from the service trip in the Media Section at www.scatico.com and plans are underway to re-create the memories and magic with the 2016 CITS.
Above left and right: Ellie helps with an art project; Alex organizes a game. Below: one of the four Color War teams (Yellow Fish) from the final day of activities.

Wha’s Happenin’?

Welcome to the first “Wha’s Happenin’ ?” column of the 2015-16 off-season. For future issues, send along all Scatico news, non-news, and photos to info@scatico.com.

As always, we’ll start with Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes).... Ella Simons and Jordan Klein (from neighboring New Jersey towns) were thrilled to discover they had a Scatico teammate when their fall baseball season started. Jordan made the connection when he spotted Ella’s older brothers Brett and Jared at a game. Ella’s dad is one of the coaches.... Kates Pargament and Metzendorf were on their way to a day in the sun on a Long Island beach when they ran into bunkmate Emma Krasner in a deli....

Tyler Winderman (cheering on Rye) and Jamie Rosh (cheering on Armonk) spotted each other in the stands of a girls’ high school soccer game.... Milo Crosby and Shay Rubinson spotted each other at a postcamp Mets’ game.... Finally, Irwin Schwartz may just have set (or tied or come close to) a Scatico RSS record with 3 in one week (2 in one afternoon). Walking the streets of Manhattan’s Upper West Side in September he has connected with campers Dylan Patterson, Dylan Schmeidler, and Jacob Schiff. Irwin and bunkmate Jack Wasserman (winner of the 2015 Boys Side Gong Show with his now-legendary Karate Act) got together for an NYC playdate and sent in the photo below....

Other news (and non-news).... Some Queens out- ings for Scatico sports fans: Jeffrey Rosenberg, Ross Markowitz, Branden Rothenberg, and Cory Schwartz met up at a late-August Mets’ game; three sets of siblings (Kate and Julie Greeley, Josh and Amanda
Klafter, and Jamie and Max Silverman) connected for a long day of tennis-watching at the U.S. Open.... Congratulations to Addison Marques. Returning home to Florida after camp, she finished in 1st place in her first competitive swim race (outside of Color War and Tribes), a 50-yard freestyle.... “The Secret Lover” — a screenplay written by Media Department Head John Hickey—was a Top 10 finisher from among thou- sands of entries in the annual Scriptapalooza Competition (www.scriptapalooza.com)....

Only a few weeks into his freshman year at Penn State, basketball counselor Jon Gross is al- ready working “on air” for the sports department of the University’s radio station. To open the football team’s season in a game versus Rutgers, he did a podcast and helped with a pregame show... First bunk reunion of the year? Not everyone could attend, but 8 Inters did make it to Alexa Gluckstal’s pool party in late August (see photo below).

Thanks for staying in touch! Send news, non-news, and photos (no non-photos) for the Winter issue of the Camper Newsletter to info@scatico.com.

Last night of camp blues? You may not be able to re-create fully the banquet, awards ceremony, and camp- fire at home, but you can watch the closing-night Slideshow and Video Yearbook by clicking here. Dim the room lights and pretend you’re lying on the Pavilion floor....

For Parents.

Thanks to all of our families who took advantage of the early enrollment discount period. Our camper return rate for 2016 already exceeds 90 percent (including 4 divisions with 100 percent returns). Parent Bulletins starting in November will walk you through the process of getting ready for the summer, but don’t hesitate to contact us directly with any questions along the way. Finally, if you are ever in the Elizaville area during the off-season and are thinking of stopping by camp, campers love seeing their second home during different seasons—fall foliage ringing the lake or along the tree-lined road; snow on the golf course for sledding;... You get the idea. Just let us know when you’d like to make the pilgrimage.

Scatico Traditions we know and love.... Left—the Upper Seniors run the Haunted House at the Carnival (and prove this year that circuses gone bad are indeed very scary); Right—the girl campers light their candles at the Opening Night campfire.

A Shout-Out..

to sisters Kasey and Sam Wilner (and mom and dad Ellen and Steve) who organized a Scatico team in the annual Central Park “Race Against Time” for Charley’s Fund (to help find a cure for Duchene muscular dystrophy). Other participating camps included Androscoggin, Tripp Lake, and Romaca. All told, the 2015 Race Against Time campaign has raised more than $250,000. Anyone interested in joining the team next fall (or would still like to make a contribution to the Scatico team for this year’s campaign) can contact Ellen at ellenNFwilner@gmail.com.

We do “love hiking in the Hudson Valley”

—especially favorite Scatico trails along Breakneck Ridge and Bonticou Crag. The sign below you can now find atop Beacon Mountain, recognizing Scatico’s help in sponsoring the restoration of a fire tower. We hope to add this hike to the mix in 2016 as there is some Breakneck -esque scrambling leading to spectacular views of the Hudson River.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE NEWSLETTER...

Survey Results: This is a last call for camper and staff surveys... Favorite meals? Activities?
Things you like best about Scatico? Suggestions for 2016? If you haven’t returned your survey yet, there’s still time.
News from Elizaville: We will bring you up to date on completed fall projects and plans for next season.

Summer Scenes (and to be repeated in 2016).... Top—boys Nat Holman basketball captains lead the team through “The Tunnel” to a first-round game; Left—the Soopers have finished the Tribes’ plaques and the teams get their first viewing in the girls’ Social Hall. Right- Jinters Lexi Schwartz and Sadie Vandercar sing at the 4th of July Talent Show.

Mark your calendars

Open House: Saturday, June 11

Opening Day: Saturday, June 25

Visiting Day: Saturday, July 16

Scatico-In-Training: Sunday, July 24 to Saturday, July 30

Closing Day: Saturday, August 13

Fall 2015, Edition 96, Issue #1